


Too Far

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex pushes himself too hard on the road.
Kudos: 3





	Too Far

“It’s getting close to midnight, we should really get some sleep, since we have to wake up early for that morning talk show appearance, then have a full concert day after,” Zack suggested, starting to get up from his seat in the back lounge.  
“I think you’re right, tomorrow is going to be a long day,” Rian added.  
“This would be a good opportunity to catch up on some sleep, especially for some of us,” Jack pointed out, looking at Alex.  
“Hey, just because I’ve been staying up some over the past couple weeks to work on songs doesn’t mean I haven’t been getting enough, I get a sufficient amount,” Alex defensively replied.  
“Dude, we just put an album out a few months ago, why are you so hellbent on getting more songs done now?” Rian asked, laughing some.  
“Well, we have a little studio time right after this tour, and I don’t want to go into it with absolutely nothing,”  
“Well, I guess that makes sense, but you should really try to get a lot tonight, and going forward, so you don’t burn yourself out,” Zack tried.  
“Fine, I will, don’t worry. I think we should all go to our bunks now,” Alex decided, getting up to walk over to the bunk area. After getting ready for bed, the four of them climbed into their bunks, and shut their privacy curtains.   
Alex tried to shut off his brain so he could get some sleep, but a song idea he really liked came to his brain, not too long after he laid down. He knew he wanted to try and write it, but he had to wait until his friends were asleep so he could sneak out to the front lounge with his song book, and not get stopped by anyone. While he waited, he started to realize how mentally and physically tired he felt from all of the late nights he’d been having recently, but he didn’t want to lose the idea he had, he knew he’d regret it.   
After about fifteen minutes, Alex decided that he was in the clear, so he grabbed his song book, and quickly made his way to the front lounge, and took a seat at the table. He started to write down his ideas, determined to finish it before going back to bed for the night.  
\---------------  
The next morning, Jack woke up to the annoying sound of his alarm, and rolled his eyes as he turned it off, wishing he could go back to sleep, even for just twenty more minutes. They only had half an hour before they’d be at the studio where the show they were appearing on was shot, so he forced himself out of his bunk, ready for some breakfast and coffee.   
When he got to the front lounge, he was surprised, and a bit concerned, to see Alex at the table with his song book open, and his head down in his arms. Jack didn’t want to wake him, since he knew that Alex needed all of the sleep he could get, but at this point he didn’t really have a choice.  
“Hey, Alex, wake up,” Jack said, lightly shaking his friend. Alex slowly stirred awake, feeling a bit disoriented as he sat up some.  
“Morning, Jack,” Alex replied, his voice raspy from the lack of sleep.  
“Dude, were you out here all night?”   
Jack sat down across from Alex, deciding talking some sense into his friend was temporarily more important than his bowl of cereal.  
“I guess I did. I had a really good idea, so I had to!”  
“Oh yeah, what is it? Whatever it is, I’m sure it wasn’t as important as you getting a healthy amount of sleep,”  
“Well, I had a great song idea, and I couldn’t just not write it, then forget it by this morning. The last time I remember looking at the time, it was between five thirty and six, so I guess I fell asleep a little after that,”  
“I’m not even going to waste our time explaining why you shouldn’t have stayed up almost all night, because there’s no time to get into it. We’re going to be at the TV studio in about thirty minutes, why don’t I make you some breakfast?” Jack offered, going back to the kitchenette.  
“I think I want to get ready before I eat, so I don’t run out of time. I’ll just grab a granola bar or something, but thanks for the offer. I’m going to go shower and stuff,”   
Alex got up, and took his lyric book with him before going towards the bunk area. Jack was a bit worried for his friend, he knew Alex was definitely pushing himself too hard by getting so little sleep while on tour, but he also knew how stubborn Alex was, so constantly arguing with him was pointless.  
\-------------------  
“Hey, I think I’m going to go wake Alex up since we go on in a few minutes,” Jack decided, setting his drink down and standing up.  
“Good idea, I guess we’ll go to the stage and wait for you guys,” Zack replied.   
The three of them walked out of the room and Jack went over to the extra dressing room, where Alex said he’d be taking a nap in the time between their meet and greet, and the start of their set. When Jack got to the room, he was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that Alex was awake, and writing something into his lyric book.  
“Alex, you’re writing? You were supposed to be napping so you wouldn’t be running on fumes during our set,” Jack pointed out as he sat next to Alex on the couch.   
He took a good look at his friend, and noticed how exhausted he looked, increasing his concern  
“I know, but I had another idea that I really wanted to write, so I decided to work through it instead of sleep. Also, I hate napping before we play, it makes me feel all groggy onstage. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Alex assured, closing his lyric book.  
“Let’s just go over to the stage, we have to be on in a few minutes,” Jack said, knowing nothing could be done now.   
Rian and Zack could see how worried Jack looked, and immediately knew that Alex hadn’t gotten any rest. This concerned them, as well, but they were aware that they just had to get through their show at this point. Seconds later, they were told to go on, so they walked onstage to a cheering crowd, as they started into their first song.   
Throughout their set, Alex noticed that he was feeling weaker and more tired, but he tried to push past it, wanting to give the fans a good show. The rest of the band could tell that Alex was really pushing himself, but they hoped that the show would go fine, then Alex would finally get some rest once it was over.   
During their last song, Alex’s head started to pound, and he started to see spots, and he realized that he’d really overdone things. As soon as the song ended, he rushed offstage to sit down, which none of his bandmates noticed. The three of them were having fun interacting with the fans, throwing pics and setlists into the crowd. Eventually, Jack realized that Alex wasn’t with them, and started to feel worried for what felt like the millionth time that day.   
He quickly made his way offstage and started to look around backstage for Alex. After a few minutes, he found Alex in the same dressing room he’d been in earlier. He was sitting on the couch and had his head resting in his hands.  
“Hey, Alex, are you okay?” Jack asked, as he took a seat on the couch.  
“I think I’m okay, my head started to hurt during Dear Maria,” Alex weakly replied, looking at Jack.  
“Do you want to go back to the bus?”  
“I think I just-“ Alex slurred his words, trailing off.  
“Hey, stay with me, man. Just keep breathing,”   
A few seconds later, Alex’s eyes closed all the way, and he stopped holding his weight, starting to fall forward.  
“Oh shit, Alex, wake up, man,”   
Jack leaned Alex up against the back of the couch, lightly shaking him. After a couple minutes, Alex’s eyes slowly opened back up.  
“What just happened?” Alex asked, rubbing his eyes.  
“You just passed out from exhaustion, man. Your body was basically trying to shut down so you could rest,” Jack replied, sounding very worried.  
“Oh, well, I think I’m okay now,”  
“Dude, you just fainted. You looked right at me and blacked out. Do you still believe you’re okay?” Jack countered.  
“True, but I’ll be okay, I-“  
“No, Alex, that’s not the right answer. You haven’t been taking good enough care of yourself lately, which I know you know. You haven’t gotten enough sleep, and I doubt you’ve been eating enough, since you’re so consumed with writing. I admire your drive to create, but you can’t keep doing this. I get that you want material for when we get in the studio, but no one will get mad if you put yourself first, I promise. Maybe I should’ve given you this speech sooner, but at least I’m saying it now. I care about you a lot, this shit can’t happen again,” Jack explained, sounding serious.   
Alex took a deep breath before speaking.  
“You’re right, man, I haven’t been smart lately. I just wanted everything to be perfect for the studio, but it isn’t worth feeling like this, it’s honestly terrifying,” Alex replied.  
“Well, it sucks that it took so long for this to get through to you, but I’m glad it finally did. Why don’t we go back to the buss, and call it a night, so you can get some much-needed rest?”  
“That’s a good idea. Hey, thanks for caring about me so much,” Alex said with a small smile.  
“No problem, someone has to make sure you’re taking care of yourself! Let’s go back to the bus,”   
Jack helped Alex up, then they started to make their way back to the bus, feeling grateful for one another.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is an idea I got from a prompt blog on Tumblr! I actually found quite a few prompts I really liked, so I have lots of ideas, but I'd still love requests!! Those are my favorite thing to write, so if you all have any, please send them in!! Thank you all for reading, it means the world. Lots of love, Liv.


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